Prominent skeptic and advocate of reason over religion and science over superstition. Founder of Prometheus Books, Council for Secular Humanism, the Center for Inquiry, and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

Author of books:The Transcendental Temptation: A Critique of Religion and the Paranormal (1986, nonfiction)Forbidden Fruit: The Ethics of Humanism (1987, nonfiction)The New Skepticism: Inquiry and Reliable Knowledge (1992, nonfiction)Toward a New Enlightenment: The Philosophy of Paul Kurtz (1994, nonfiction)The Courage to Become: The Virtues of Humanism (1997, nonfiction)Skepticism and Humanism: The New Paradigm (2000, nonfiction)Embracing the Power of Humanism (2000, nonfiction)Science and Religion: Are They Compatible? (2003, nonfiction)